With the search for April Windsor heating up in Emmerdale, more police have been brought in to help, and one of them is a familiar face – former Coronation Street star Rhea Bailey.
April went missing on Christmas Day following a tough few weeks for the teen. Viewers saw April get into a mystery car, but there have been no sightings, leaving dad Marlon devastated.
Rhea Bailey appeared in Emmerdale tonight (Monday, December 30) as Anna, the family liaison officer on April’s case. Here’s the lowdown on the star.
Rhea Bailey in Emmerdale – the latest
After Marlon Dingle and Mary Goskirk had conducted yet another search for April, there was a knock at the door. The woman, played by Rhea Bailey, introduced herself as Anna, the family liaison officer.
However, she didn’t have the news the family were hoping for as she informed Marlon, Rhona and Mary that they had no new leads in the search for April.
Anna was interested in April’s state of mind before her disappearance, suggesting that she could have left of her own accord because she was upset after learning the truth about how her mum Donna Windsor died. This theory was supported by the search of the house, where they discovered there was money missing as well as some of April’s belongings.
Marlon lost his temper with Anna on a couple of occasions, but she remained calm as she tried to help the family through the difficult time.
Anna supported the family through an awful time when they were summoned into the hospital when Jacob informed them that a stabbing victim had come into A&E with April’s purse.
Marlon and Rhona were then told that the victim had died, needing to view the body to identify whether it was April or not. The couple didn’t know how to feel when they confirmed that it wasn’t April after all.
Anna apologised to the couple for this ordeal, continuing the quest to find missing April.
Early years and famous family
Rhea was born in Leeds on July 12, 1983. She is the younger sister of singer Corinne Bailey Rae – most famous for her hit Put Your Records On. The actress is engaged to Darren Everest of The Overtones.
Growing up in West Yorkshire, Rhea was just three years old when she told her mum she wanted to be an actress. At the age of 14, she was allowed to go to stage school. Her first big job came just two years later, when she landed the role of Emma in Children’s Ward.
Rhea Bailey in The Bill
Rhea starred in police drama The Bill between 2008 and 2010. She played PC Mel Ryder, who was described as “ballsy and straight-talking”.
Her notable storylines included when her younger brother Jordan was implicated in a stabbing over Christmas in 2008. Fortunately, for Mel, following the investigation, Jordan was able to walk free.
In 2010, Mel rescued a young boy from drowning in a flooded drain. She then became trapped, putting her life in jeopardy. However, she was rescued by Inspector Dale Smith, who received a hero’s reception for his troubles.
Caz Hammond in Coronation Street
In 2015, Rhea joined Coronation Street, where she played Caz Hammond, who was the fiancée of Kate Connor.
Caz was also a soldier, which meant that originally she was back and forth. During one of her visits, Caz became jealous of Kate’s friendship with Sophie Webster.
Caz became quite deranged and slightly unstable. On one occasion, she threatened Sophie and told her to stay away from Kate. This threat was ignored and Caz caught Kate and Sophie kissing – confirming her suspicions
Caz went back to the army. However, she soon returned to the Street, claiming she had injured her ankle. Kate agreed to look after Caz, but it was later revealed that Caz was faking the injury to get close to Kate again.
After Kate and Caz finally broke up, Caz became obsessed with Maria instead and proceeded to stalk her. Caz ended up setting Maria up for her own murder. The truth eventually came out and Caz was arrested.
What else has Rhea Bailey been in?
Following her stint in Children’s Ward, Rhea starred in 9 episodes of soap Crossroads as Chloe Simms.
She has also appeared in episodes of Casualty, Cold Feet, Merseybeat, Donovan and Torchwood.
Other notable roles include 4 episodes of daytime soap Doctors in 2007, where she played a character called Stella Parkman. She also played DC Lisa Goodall in 6 episodes of Blue Murder in 2006.
In 2006, she landed the role of Yasmin Deardon in series 1 of school drama Waterloo Road. Yasmin’s twin brother was killed in a car crash caused by another student at the school, Donte Charles. Yasmin’s story arc saw her learn to forgive Donte.
Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.
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